Sportdigital, the German sports-focused broadcaster, has secured rights in the country to air the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team competition.
Through the agreement, Sportdigital will air 40 out of the tournament’s 47 matches via its Sportdigital+ streaming service, with more than 20 of those tie-ups simulcast on its linear Sportdigital 1+ channel.
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Selected matches will feature German commentary.
The tournament, which will feature 20 teams competing in four first-round pools in Tokyo (Japan), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and US cities Houston and Miami, starts on March 4 and ends with the final at Miami’s LoanDepot Park on March 17.
As part of its rights package, the broadcaster will also air five pre-tournament exhibition games between participating nations and Major League Baseball on the Sportdigital+ app, including a match between Team Canada and the Toronto Blue Jays (March 3), while Team USA will play against the San Francisco Giants (March 3) and the Colorado Rockies (March 4).
Following the tournament, Sportdigital will resume its coverage of Major League Baseball on Sportdigital+ from March 26.
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By GlobalDataUli Pingel, editor-in-chief of Sportdigital, said: "The World Baseball Classic is always a great celebration for all fans of this sport that is so successful worldwide.
“One of the special features is that the MLB stars compete here for their respective home countries, and the relatively short tournament time creates an incredibly exciting playoff atmosphere almost throughout."
Owned by North America’s Major League Baseball (MLB), via World Baseball Classic Inc., and operated alongside the MLB Players Association union, the tournament sees national teams compete against each other in a similar format to soccer’s FIFA World Cup.
Established in 2006 and now in its sixth season, the last edition in 2023 was won by Team Japan, led by LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
Sportdigital is the latest broadcaster to snap up rights to the tournament after Tving, the South Korean streaming service, secured rights in the country to air all 47 matches live from the tournament.
US rights to the tournament are held by media giant Fox, which has secured both English and Spanish-language rights earlier this year. Fox’s deal covers all 47 games, with Fox itself airing seven fixtures, including three Pool B games featuring a US team, two quarter-final games, and the final.
The remaining games will air on sports channels FS1 and FS2, as well as being streamed on the Fox Sports app, Fox One, and Tubi services. The Fox Deportes service, meanwhile, will broadcast 28 games in Spanish, including the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final.
Rights in Japan, meanwhile, have been snapped up by global streaming giant Netflix, which will exclusively air all matches.
It will be Netflix’s first live sports event in Japan, with the streamer promising comprehensive coverage of the tournament after the previous edition saw six of the seven Team Japan games deliver over 30 million viewers in the country for broadcaster TV Asahi.
